The Dirge of Malachor
by Victor Craban
Summary: The first story featuring Isaac Kyse, a Jedi Knight and soldier in the Mandalorian Wars, and later on in the Jedi Civil War, during the time of the KoTOR games.


Malak, his form vibrant blue in the comm unit, barked orders at his crew, telling them to pull the ship far enough from Malachor to make the hyperspace jump. His metallic jaw rounded back on Isaac, who sat on the edge of his cot in his Jedi robes.

"The reinforcements will not arrive as expected, but Revan has ordered your General to carry on with the plan. The Mandalorians are finished here." Malak growled as current of lights in his jaw flashed while he spoke. "I suggest you return to her flagship before the device activates." He continued, pausing to shout at another Republic soldier.

"Understood, Commander. I'll rendezvous with the Harbinger as soon as I'm off planet." Isaac said, disconnecting the comm unit. He stood up and collected what few possessions he had taken planetside with him: a meditation band, his lightsaber, and a few packets of military rations, before making his way out of the tent.

Outside, tension was heavy amongst the Republic soldiers. They could feel that something was going to happen, but few, if any, suspected anything more than a Mandalorian surprise assault. Isaac could sense the disturbance, as could every Force-sensitive being on Malachor V, few as they may be. In one of the open engineering tents, he could see a Zabrak engineer speaking to the General on a comm unit. The General gave a solemn nod, and the engineer switched off the comm device. Isaac recognized him as Bao-Dur, one of the many brilliant minds that the General had pulled together to create the war-ending device that Isaac felt was about to be triggered.

"Captain Kyse, the General has issued the command." Isaac nodded. It was exactly as he feared. "And also recommends that you get off-planet immediately." He added, hurrying across the encampment to the take-off area. The General had issued the dreaded order already. Isaac turned to see the Zabrak rushing into one of the ships and cursed under his breath. He had overestimated the amount of time he had available. He had hoped for a chance at a full evacuation. As he made his way up the valley to where the ships were docked, a few precious seconds behind the Zabrak officer, a loud shout and an explosion alerted him to a Mandalorian assault team pouring into the Republic camp. Without hesitation, he drew his lightsaber and deflected two stray bolts from the Mandalorian attackers.

"Blast. Just what I bloody needed. Mandalorians. Now. Honestly, no sense of timing." He muttered to himself through gritted teeth. The soldiers scrambled uselessly to repel the assault, firing at random upon the several visible Mandalorians as the vast majority of the shots reflected harmlessly off of their armor. Two soldiers off to his left fell, cut down by unseen vibroblades, and Isaac dropped to a defensive stance. Instinctively, he closed his eyes and reached out with the Force, seeing through the waves that defined the life of all beings, as the Miraluka had taught him to do so many years ago. Opening his eyes, he deflected the blow of a cloaked Mandalorian warrior who had tried to approach him from behind. The cortosis weave on the attacker's vibroblade strained for a moment, then Isaac unleashed a wave of Force, knocking the assailant to the ground before swiftly decapitating him. Isaac was a master of the often frowned upon art of Sai Cha, a mark of contact in which the opponent's head was separated from its body, thus eliminating the threat. While usually reserved for the most dangerous opponents, and even then used chiefly by the Sith, Isaac had found the mark the most effective for him, as it eliminated the possibility of the opponent getting back on its feet.

Taking the arms off of another Mandalorian rushing at him through the cloaking mechanism, Isaac decided it would be best to press on. As much as he wanted to help the Republic, whose men were being brutally slaughtered by the Mandalorians, he acknowledged that he had wasted enough time in his brief combat with the Mandalorian, and the Zabrak was no doubt rushing to activate the Mass Shadow Generator that very moment. Turning his back to the doomed men, he hurried to the battered Republic starfighter he had used to get planetside from the General's flagship in the first place.

"Damn you, Revan…" He growled as he strapped on his flight helmet. A sharp report from the Republic camp, followed by the panicked shouts of Republic officers told him that the Mandalorians were winning, at least for the time being. The T3 astromech droid that had been installed to assist in navigation whirred to life and fired off a series of inquisitive beeps, wondering what was going on.

"Revan's ending the war." He responded simply, warming the engines for takeoff as he nervously tapped his lightsaber against the control panel of the ship. He was really pushing the clock on this. The system finished its diagnostics and Isaac wasted no time engaging the engines as a group of Mandalorians rounded the corner and took a series of shots at his while he took off. As he pulled away, the first of a series of explosions rocked the valley where the ships were docked. He climbed higher, quickly breaking the planet's atmosphere, and feeling some remorse in knowing full well that in a matter of minutes all life on Malachor V would be extinguished by Revan's staggeringly destructive device. The little T3, as if sensing Isaac's apprehension about what was about to happen, let out a few worried, nervous blips, and he couldn't hold back his smile. Even among the droids of the Republic, Revan was known for being ruthlessly efficient. He surveyed the many Republic and Mandalorian ships engaged in a heated space battle and deftly navigated the battleground. The General's flagship was a scant few kilometers away when the Mass Shadow Generator activated, turning Malachor V's gravity inside-out and rocketing Isaac back toward the planet's atmosphere and ultimately, the surface. Quickly regaining his wits, and with a great deal of effort from the T3 unit, Isaac managed to pull his ship out of the Generator's sphere of effect, but not before hearing that awful dirge. The banshee cry of thousands of soldiers dying on the planet's surface, betrayed by the planet's own gravity echoed into his ears, and was so intense that the sound alone nearly drove him mad. But when the resonance of all those lives become one with the Force at once hit him, everything went black and he felt himself slipping away. The scream continued to echo in his head even as he drifted unconscious in the cockpit of the small starfighter.


End file.
